Reviews of movies, TV shows, & more

Month: June 2009

Last week was NOT good for me- had A LOT of ups and downs in mood! Of course, I’m still feeling bad re: not having a job. (But there are many ppl in this position, incl those who went to Ivies!) I’m applying for various F/T jobs and signing up w/ online tutoring agencies (for this summer).

My 1st priority is to complete my TESOL training assignments b/c I may go to China in September. (I didn’t want to go in August- what if I end up getting a English teaching job here? Hey, ya never know!) Yesterday, at the Starbucks in Old Town Alexandria, I saw a guy around my age studying books on Chinese verbs and grammar. Maybe he needs it for business or wants to teach abroad, too?

On the positive side… I can’t believe that I bought a swimsuit after MANY years! (The apt community where Dad and I live, there are several nice/newish pools. We had our own pool in our Tucson house, and I’ve missed swimming these past 10 yrs.) I got the Women’s Original Sport Tankini in black from Land’s End; this company sells conservative swimsuits. (It looks like a jogging outfit of tank top and shorts basically.) Land’s End has swim skirts and different colorful items, too. An Iranian-American lady I know has a “burkini” swimsuit w/o the head covering; it looks like a wetsuit, I believe. I think it’s GREAT to have more choices in swimwear these days!

It’s summer- the season for LOTS of weddings! A terrific Broadway, film, and TV actor (Harry Lennix) got married last week. Though he’s not a well-known actor, he does a GREAT job w/ his roles.

This duo just keeps getting better and better; they recently appeared on Oprah!

Anything Goes; How Many Times – Randy Houser

This singer began his career as a songwriter; recently he co-wrote Trace Adkins’ “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” w/ Jamey Johnson (see below). Letterman had Randy on his show to sing Anything Goes after being impressed w/ it from radio! His voice is PURE country- not like the pop type of country we’ve grown so used to hearning since the ’90s. His voice is a beautiful standout amidst the crowd of new country acts!

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This show (seen last year on BBC) is a MUST-SEE for all Jane Austen fans! It has a great cast (including gorgeous/talented new faces), looks beautiful (costumes, cinematography, lighting), and is full of humor. There are jokes viewers of ALL ages will get, BUT there are also in-jokes for devoted fans of Jane. (I liked those jokes best, of course!)

Amanda Price is a modern-day JA fan who enters into her fave novel, Pride and Prejudice. She takes the place of P&P’s main protagonist Elizabeth Bennett. But life in Georgian England is NOT as easy as it seems in the book!

But the best part is Amanda’s complicated relationship w/ the newest Mr. Darcy! As in the novel, Darcy is tall, imposing, and irritatingly proper. (His voice is VERY cool, too!) At first, he is shocked by Amanda’s (modern/odd) behavior. She doesn’t want to fall for Darcy- she wants to keep things EXACTLY like the novel. But things quickly go wrong!

I bought this DVD a few weeks ago b/c it was a VERY good price. (If you’re a fan of Austen or Dickens, you should definitely check it out!) It’s a miniseries based on George Eliot’s most famous novel. She (the pen name of George was in honor of her long-time love, George Henry Lewes) was a writer who could describe a wide swath of society, much like Dickens. There are MANY interesting/young people trying to carve out a place in the world w/o compromising their dreams. (These include Jonathan Firth, Colin’s younger brother, and the unusually handsome/intense Rufus Sewell.)

The main female character is intelligent, serious-minded, natural beauty Dorothea Brooke (Juliet Aubrey). She and her younger sister Cecilia (a more conventional girl) were orphaned before their teens, so they live on the estate of their wealthy bachelor uncle, Mr. Brooke. (The estate is near to the town of Middlemarch.) Though she has many fine qualities, Dorothea wants to “do something more” w/ her life than what’s expected of a young woman of her time. She draws up a plan for improving the cottages of Brooke’s tenants, but he doesn’t want to spend money on the project.

Even though her youthful/outgoing neighbor (Sir James Chettam) is in love with her, Dorothea merely sees him as a friend. But she quickly grows interested in Rev. Casuabon, a VERY serious/middle-aged/scholarly man. Dorothea thinks that she can help him in his work. They have a brief courtship before marrying, much to the disappointment of her family/friends.

During most of their honeymoon in Italy, Casuabon buries himself in libraries while Dorothea sees the sights with handsome/young Will Ladislaw (Casuabon’s cousin). Will paints for fun, but wants to find a profession where he can make an impact.

Back home, Dorothea is impressed by the painting of a beautiful lady hanging in her house.Willtells her the story of the unconventional romance between his British grandfather and Polish grandmother (in the picture). Sadly, the lady wasn’t treated very well by her in-laws. As he tells it, she is full of quiet amazement at the idea of such a relationship. (We KNOW Dorothea hasn’t married for love.)

Casuabon is emotionally distant and refuses his young wife’s help w/ scholarly work. Dorothea desperately wants to make him happy, but she grows disenchanted with the cold, lonely marriage. But she never complains.

Will, who begins work as her uncle’s assistant, continues to see her as a friend. Casuabon suddenly prohibits Will from coming to his house. Dorothea is shocked- they did nothing wrong! Did her husband sense something neither she nor Will can admit?

The main male character is intelligent, ambitious, and worldly Dr. Tertius Lydgate (Douglas Hodge). Unlike most of the others in the provincial town of Middlemarch, he is a well-trained MD (w/ specializations done in Scotland and Paris.) Most docs of that day were NOTHING like ours! Lydgate is a newcomer who elicits much attention- sometimes of the negative kind. The other doctors bristle against his techniques (such as warning patients against wacky potions and refusing to operate when not needed). They feel he’s too young to overstep them.

Like Dorothea, he gives part of his time to the poor. (They become friends as the story goes along.) Lydgate’s an idealist who hopes to create BIG changes. In his personal life, he is quickly drawn to the vivacious and chatty Rosamund Vincy, the daughter of a tradesman. They fall in love and marry, though he’d intended to wait until he was financially/professionally more stable. Rosamund dreams of status and money, ignorant of the goals he has. Will marriage curtail Lydgate’s ambitions?

We have a responsibility to attack the mistakes and brutalities of our own leaders, past and present. If you lie about the past you won’t tell the truth about the present.– British director Ken Loach

You may not have heard of this film that came on recently on Encore; I saw it first in the BBC catalog. It’s a glimpse into the Irish war for independence in the early 1920s as seen through the eyes of a group of very young men in rural County Cork. At the center of the group is idealistic/sensitive Damien O’Donovan (Cilian Murphy- a native of Cork; The Way We Live Now, Red Eye,Batman Begins) and his older/charismatic brother Teddy (Padraig Delaney). Damien is soft-spoken, slightly built, and well-respected for his smarts. Teddy is tall, talks forcefully, and a natural leader.

Though most of his scrappy country pals are IRA (led by Teddy), Damien is about to go to a London hospital for training. Then he witnesses some humiliating, unnecessary, and violent events perpetrated by the Black and Tans (British soldiers sent to quash the growing rebellion).

He takes up arms quickly- his community needs him. Even Damien’s long-time female friend is part of the rebellion- she works as a messenger.

This film juxstaposes the beauty of Ireland with the violence of the rebellion. In some cases, long-time friends are pitted against each other b/c they have to preserve themselves. Freedom is not the only issuse; in one scene Damien examines a little boy who’s near starvation. How will this rag tag group of guys defeat the soldiers? When a compromise is reached with England, Damien and Teddy are pitted against each other.

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I saw this film last week and REALLY enjoyed it! It’s a fun, fast-paced, and smart spy thriller. I’m not going to reveal TOO much about it, b/c you should see for yourself.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Roger Ferris- a young CIA operative based in the Middle East. (Leo’s hair is dyed dark brown, he sports fluffy facial hair, and speaks w/ a North Carolina accent.) Not only is Ferris fluent in Arabic, he’s knowledgeable about AND respectful of the ways of the Arab world. In the opening of the film, Ferris is being assisted by a local (a young family man) in getting intel about terrorist activity in Iraq.

His DC-based boss is Ed Hoffman; Russell Crowe gained about 30 lbs for the role. Unlike Ferris, Hoffman plays politics, enjoys manipulating others, and is highly prejudiced against the Middle East. Hoffman constantly talks about ending the war on terror by any means necessary, but Ferris isn’t always comfortable with all his tactics. Sometimes Hoffman ignores Ferris’ info and shoots off w/ his own plan! You’ll get a kick out of how Hoffman goes about his daily life in suburbia (family dinner, car pool, soccer games, etc.) while making life/death decisions on the phone w/ Ferris.

While in Amman, Jordan, Ferris develops a keen interest in an (unconventionally) pretty nurse, Aisha (Golshifteh Farahani, a big star in her native Iran). Though this part of the movie seemed contrived to many reviewers, the two actors have good chemistry. Also, we get to see a sweet, respectful, budding romance between a Christian and a Muslim (very rare in Hollywood)!

In my opinion, the main reason to see Body of Lies is Brit actor Mark Strong (who played Mr. Knightley in the A&E version of Emma). Strong (who is actually of Italian and Austrian heritage) plays Hani Salaam, the sharply-dressed, well-spoken, and enigmatic head of Jordanian intelligence. Hani prefers to use “punishment” instead of “torture” to get info from suspected baddies; Ferris feels bad about this. Strong has a terrific accent suiting his character; Hani is portrayed as intelligent, arrogant (he’s of high status), and funny in a sly way. He’s far removed from the Arab Muslim Holywood stereotype, thank goodness!

Above pics of National Martyrs Memorial in Dhaka- it’s surrounded by walkways, greenery, and little canals of water

2 pics I took while passing an university campus

Some apt bldgs in Gulshan- one of the wealthiest areas of Dhaka

Above 3 pics were taken from a house in Chittagong

A mosque in a gram (small village) near Chittagong

A baby taxi (runs on natural gas)

We saw these guys selling roadside snacks on the way to Cox’s Bazaar; the little boy completed 4th grade, but didn’t advance on (b/c he didn’t want to attend a madrassa school, where no practical skills are learned).

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Wow, have I missed writing here!!! I got back to US a few days ago after a 3 1/2 wk trip to Bangladesh (or BD as some teens say). On June 2nd, we (me, Dad, Mom, and lil bro) landed in Dulles, rested for a day, then drove my Mom and lil bro back to Indiana. My lil sis couldn’t go b/c she’s still pretty busy w/ internship and studies (back in AZ).

I’m now at my Mom’s house in suburban Indy, so I have (kinda slow) dial-up connection. I’ll put up some of my BD photos very soon- I have pics on my laptop back in VA.